Chase
Smartt (2015, Troy, AL) had himself a good start to the
tournament, showing athleticism both behind the plate and at third
base, as he split time at each position. In the batters box, Smartt
crushed a pitch over the right-center field fence for a home run.
Ball
State commit Zach Plesac (2013, Crown Point, IN) sat in the
upper-80s throughout his outing, touching 90 mph a few times and
topping out at an impressive 91 mph on his fastball.
2014
Zachary Sullivan (Corning, NY) showed a little bit of
everything in his first game Saturday morning, beginning with a
triple to deep centerfield on the first pitch he saw, seemingly
gliding around the bases. In his second plate appearance, Sullivan
put his power on display, drilling a 3-2 pitch over the left-field
wall for a no doubt grand slam. His speed and baseball IQ helped him
in the field, playing flawless defense in centerfield, taking good
routes to balls and showed more than plenty of arm strength for the
position.
A
University of Buffalo commit, Vinny Mallaro (2013, North
Syracuse, NY) looked the part behind the plate and had the game to
back it up. Mallaro was very athletic defensively, showing the
ability to slide to his left or right to block a ball in the dirt. He
also has plenty of arm strength behind the plate to go along with his
quick transfer.
Mitch
Cavanagh (2014, Oneida, NY) came onto the bump to provide some
relief, pumping his fastball up to 90 mph, sitting 86-88 mph and
keeping it down in the zone. He missed a lot of bats and nothing was
really squared up as his fastball had some two-seam action, and he
mixed in a hard slider as well.
It
is easy to envision 6-foot-7 Tyler Green (2013, Williamsville,
NY) hitting the ball a long way for Vanderbilt University over the
next couple years, as he showed the ability to use his frame to help
him drive the ball and whip the barrel of the bat through the zone.
2014
RHP Luis Ortiz (Sanger, CA) showed the same impressive stuff
he brought at the Perfect Game National a week ago in Minnesota: hard
velocity, easy arm action, a plus slider, pounding of the strike
zone, and missing opposing bats. Ortiz ran his fastball up to 95 mph,
never dipping below 90 mph throughout the outing. He threw the slider
hard, sitting 84/85 mph and was virtually unhittable, evidenced by
him needing only 28 pitches through the first three innings of work.
In
his first at bat of the game, 2014 Jacob Gatewood (Clovis, CA)
found himself in a 3-2 count but didn’t seem phased when the
pitcher tried to sneak a fastball in on the next pitch. Gatewood
showed very good bat speed, staying inside the ball and driving the
pitch over the LCF fence for a solo home run.
2014
Tim Susnara (Redwood City, CA) was solid behind the plate for
his five innings of work, blocking the ball well in games and showing
of his strong arm and quick release in between innings, turning in
some solid pop times.
2014
MIF Ti’quan Forbes (Columbia, MS) of the Texas Sun Devils is
very athletic with exciting potential and gave everybody at Etowah
High School a taste of his power in the box, blasting a grand slam
over the left field fence, putting the Sun Devils ahead 4-0 early.
What was impressive about the swing was how well he stayed back on
the pitch (curveball) and drove it with force.
Chase
Shugart (Bridge City, TX) and Devon Roedahl
(Beaumont, TX), both 2015 graduates, threw the ball very well
for the Sun Devils, Shugart pitched in the first game and Roedahl
started the second. Shugart ran his four-seam fastball up to 88 mph,
sitting 85-87, and his two-seam sat at 82-84 mph with some arm side
run. He also flashed two breaking pitches, a slider at 77 mph and a
curveball 69/70 mph. Roedahl bumped his fastball to 91 mph in his
first inning of work before settling in at 87-90 mph with lots of 90s
and good run on the pitch. He also mixed in a mid-70s slider which he
used to help him collect more than a handful of strikeouts in his
outing.
Beau
and Bryce Jordan (2014, Lake Charles, LA) both made their
presence felt in the batters box, squaring everything up that they
swung at, putting the ball in play. Bryce lined a ball hard down the
right field line for a stand-up double, and Beau was to no be outdone
in his first at-bat, sending a pitch right back up the box for a
single. Both move well on the bases and are committed to Louisiana
State.
Starting
Sunday morning for the DeMarini Roadrunners was 2014 Gabe Moore
(Alpharetta, GA), a tall right handed pitcher with broad shoulders
and some room to fill. Moore bumped his fastball up to 90 mph,
consistently sitting 88/89 mph, even in the later innings of the
game. He also showed a feel for three different off-speed pitches; a
slider at 76/77 mph, a 74-76 changeup with some fade, and an 11/5
curveball in the 73-74 mph range.
Seth
Beer (Suwanee, GA), a
2016 graduate playing in the 18U, didn’t look out of place, batting
fourth for the Roadrunners and manning third base. He made a very
nice defensive play at the hot corner on a chopper that appeared to
be going over his head. Instead of allowing the ball to do so, Beer
took a step back, timed his leap perfectly, and cut down a runner on
second attempting to advance to third, thinking it was a base hit off
the bat.
Brandt
Stallings (Buford, GA) and Alec Wilson
(Cumming, GA), both 2015 graduates, each collected a hard hit
single up the middle, with Wilson seeing the ball leave his bat at 94
mph and Stallings left an exit velocity of 98 mph on the radar gun
behind the backstop.
An
hour before the 2:00 game was scheduled to start on Field 2 at the
East Cobb Complex, scouts were lining up and getting ready to see
2014 RHP Dylan Cease (Milton, GA). Cease came out throwing
fastballs at 92/93 mph during warms up prior to his first inning of
work, where he consistently sat at 93/94 mph, touching 95 mph a few
times. To go along with his fastball, which he threw with an
effortless arm action, Cease buckled batter's knees with a mid-70s
curveball, which had sharp, late 11/5 break, along with a changeup
that he had batters out in front with on and threw with the same arm
speed.
Showing
well in Minnesota at the National Showcase, 2014 OF Michael
Gettys (Gainesville, GA) hasn’t
slowed down on the field, literally, as he lined a triple to the LCF
gap for a stand up triple, nearly passing the runner who was on the
bases ahead of him. Earlier in the game Gettys had a double which
made it to the left field fence and he also drew a walk. He showed
the same speed and hustle down the line as he did in Minnesota, along
with his excellent bat speed in the box.
Starting
at shortstop and batting in the middle of the lineup for Team Elite
White, 2015 David Chabut (Loganville, GA) is a high motor
player with some pop in his bat, lining a pitch down the left field
line for a stand-up double.Starting
in the mound for Team Elite White was 2015 LHP Evan Steele
(Marietta, GA). Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 193 pounds,
the highly protectable Steele topped out at 86 mph with his fastball,
sitting 82-84 mph throughout and a high-60s curveball which he used
to help him strikeout the side early on.
Micah
Carpenter (2015, Hull, GA) came in to relieve Steele and was
pretty effective. Throwing from a 3/4 arm slot, Carpenter sat 86/87
mph on his fastball, topping 88 mph and also showed a good feel for a
71/72 mph curveball which showed good depth and late break.
New
Jersey Native Luke Bonfield (2014, Skillman, NJ) had himself a
nice day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a single
for the Atlanta Blue Jays.
2012
Perfect Game All American Rowdy Tellez (Elk Grove, CA) is
playing this week with the San Diego Show, batting cleanup and
playing first base. Taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 30th round of this year's draft, Tellez showed off his hit tool on
Saturday night, lacing a double to deep centerfield on Field 2 at the
East Cobb Complex.